Susan Fang presents Air-Illusion for Spring Summer 2027, drawing inspiration from M. Butterfly and the imagined realities people create around love. Susan Fang examines how fantasy influences perception and how genuine emotion can exist alongside an illusion.
SPRING SUMMER 2027
M. Butterfly follows French diplomat René Gallimard and Chinese opera singer Song Liling from the 1960s through a relationship that lasts twenty years. Gallimard eventually discovers that Song, whom he believes to be a woman, is a man and a spy. Song knows the truth throughout their relationship, while Gallimard constructs an ideal woman through his own desires. Fang focuses on the love between them and the contradiction between emotional reality and fabricated identity. Susan Fang will also design costumes for a new production of the opera at La Monnaie / De Munt in Brussels, opening in April 2027.
The collection translates illusion through geometry, color and changing perception. Fang draws from traditional Chinese prints and ceramics, using broken porcelain, transparent layers and flowers that appear differently according to the viewer’s angle.
She transforms the qipao into a transparent bubble form that refers to Song Liling’s fabricated femininity and Gallimard’s imagined ideal. A bubble Beijing opera headpiece covered with resin lilies develops the same idea through transparent volume and floral detail.
Clear organza carries feathers and color between its layers, creating an air-painting effect inspired by broken porcelain. Fang applies the technique to dresses and an abstract qipao silhouette. Air-flower pieces take their palette from traditional porcelain, while crochet knitwear uses blue, white, mint and peach.
Prints combine hand-drawn references to Chinese porcelain painting with a digital garden based on colors found in ceramics and Chinese dress. At close range, the garden breaks into ASCII letters and numbers. Orelio De Jonghe, Fang’s husband and Susan Fang’s Head of 3D Design and Accessories, created the print.
The Air-Puzzle technique connects geometric shapes into three-dimensional color planes and abstract silhouettes. Fang also repaints broken porcelain pieces by hand for accessories and embellishments. Gold reconnects broken jade in multicolored flower jewellery, turning visible fractures into decorative elements.
Crocs and Susan Fang introduce Echo Blume during the London Fashion Week show, marking the worldwide debut of the new Echo Lume silhouette. Metallic wildflowers cover the footwear through Fang’s flower system, which uses fractal formulas found in nature and develops them through 3D animation. The design appears in Black, Pink and White. De Jonghe developed Echo Blume’s flower system and the floral high heels shown on the runway.
Technology partner Bambu Lab supports the collection’s experiments with 3D printing. Susan Fang creates neon lace inspired by flowers in porcelain painting and develops a pixelated flip-flop that becomes recognizable from one viewing angle. De Jonghe directs these technology-led designs.
Beijing-based Jade Master Li Ke contributes intricate jade earrings after over twenty years of working with the material. He also points to the declining number of students entering jade work.
The show takes place at Barbican Centre Lakeside, marking the venue’s first fashion show. XL+ Architects created floating silver circles that reflect their surroundings. Fang extends the theme through an invitation that reveals either a four-leaf clover monogram or a heart depending on its angle. Penhaligon’s Bold Blend scents the collection, while small potion bubble bags reference the mystery surrounding the two characters.
